DANIEL Sloss is leaving his audience to decide whether or not he is a sociopath.

His latest show, Daniel Sloss: Now, is heading for Swindon next week following a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Festival.

This was the comedian’s 10th visit to the Fringe and he says it is a great place for comedians to test their material and stretch themselves.

“It is great because it offers other possibilities. It is a challenge to improve and makes you think,’’ said Daniel, who knew precisely what he wanted to be from the age of 14 years.

Although Daniel was born in Kingston upon Thames he was brought up in Fife and considers himself a Scotsman.

His mother met the comedian Frankie Boyle and told him of her son’s passion for stand-up.

“She met him and asked him for advice and he was kind enough to show me around, show me the ropes,’’ said Daniel.

“I very much remember his help and although I am not a comedian of his stature I would help others coming up.’’

Daniel’s comedy is often described as dark and bordering on the macabre at times.

His show which he entitled Dark turned out to be a pivotal moment in his career.

“It was the sort of stand-up show that made me change for the good,’’ said Daniel.

It was his seventh show at Edinburgh Fringe and ran for a week at London’s Soho Theatre. It was performed at the Royal Albert Hall and then commissioned to play on Broadway and Los Angeles, so the comedian found himself on the front page of the Arts Section of the New York Times.

“I didn’t think the West End was such a big deal it was just a London theatre,’’ he said.

“It was just me and a mic.’’

He is no stranger to television being asked to perform on the iconic Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Channel 4’s Paul O Grady Show, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Conan.

Daniel took part in Comic Relief, training the boxer Tyson Fury to become a stand-up comedian.

“He was good but he didn’t win,’’ said Daniel.

The comedian teamed up with Tom Stade, another comic who appeared in Swindon recently, to write an online sitcom.

“It was great fun working with friends. Tom lives just down the road,’’ said Daniel.

The comedian says his two hobbies are football and computer games.

“I am a big Chelsea fan and a massive gamer,’’ he said, but he admits that he doesn’t actually play football himself any more.

He did, however, have a brief flirtation with the telly long before he took up comedy. He appeared on Robot Wars with his dad.

“He entered his robot and I was just the cute factor,’’ said Daniel, who went on to win a place at Dundee University to study history.

“Stand-up came first so I turned it down,’’ he said.

Daniel is currently touring the UK and will be stopping off at Swindon’s Arts Centre, Devizes Road, Old Town on Tuesday, November 21, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £16 from 01793 524481 or visit www.swindontheatres.co.uk - Flicky Harrison